Test tube cleaning device and method



C. C. GOLDEN TEST TUBE CLEANING DEVICE AND METHOD Filed Sept. l0 1953 a.m w Ra N m mmw E@ r m V m m... Jm ,f M w May 8, 1956 My inventionrelates to a device and method for cleaning'test tubes, and moreparticularly to a cleaning device for use in laboratories and the likewherein large numbers of test tubes or similar laboratory equipment maybe cleaned at one time.

It has heretofore been the practice in laboratories to United StatesPatentprovide a test tube cleaningxdevice in which the test tubes`to beVcleaned are placed in a holder, usually in the form of a wire basket,which is then placed into a larger tank adapted to be repeatedly filledand drained. The tank will be filled and drained as many as fifteen to`twenty times, depending upon the requirements of the laboratory andthedegree of contamination of the articles being cleaned. Generallyspeaking, the test tubes are cleaned with water, the repeated fillingand draining of the tank resulting in the removal of all foreign matterfrom the test tubes.

It has also been heretofore suggested that more thorough cleaning of thetest tubes will result if they are positioned with their open ends lyingslightly above their closed ends, so that as the tank is filled thewater will flow downwardly into each tube thereby forcing out any airbubbles which might otherwise be trapped in the closed end of the tubewhich would prevent contact of the cleaning fluid with all surfaces ofthe tube. However, where the tubes are tilted in this manner, it isevident that, upon draining of the tank, all of the liquid will not bedrained from the individual tubes unless they are tilted so as to placetheir open ends lowerrnost. To this end, devices have been provided inwhich the holder or basket for the test` tubes is itself tilted duringeach filling and draining operation. Heretofore, such tilting of theholder has ybeen done either by hand or by means of complicatedmehanismwhich adds greatly to the cost of the equipment.

It is a principal object of my invention to provide a device and methodof thecharacter described in which the test tube holder is automaticallytilted from one position to another and returned during the filling anddrainingof the tank, which means are of simple and economicalconstruction and devoid of motors or other complicated operatingmechanism.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a cleaning device andmethod of the character described in which test tubes may be placed inthe device both longitudinally and transversely thereof and the deviceautomatically tilted in such fashion that both the longitudinallydisposed and the transversely disposed tubes will be tilted to a lillposition as the tank is being filled and to a drain position as the tankis being drained.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide ay test tubecleaning device and method wherein the holder or basket for the testtubes is supported on a tiltable platform capable of being tilted fromone position to another by means of a buoyancy chambery operativelyconnected to the platform and responsive to the filling and draining ofthe tank in vwhich the platform is supported.

, extending in the same direction.

These and*v other objects of my invention which will appear hereinafterorv which will bevapparent to the skilled worker in the art upon readingtheser specifications, I accomplish by those constructions andarrangements of parts. and thatprocedure of which I shall now describecertain exemplary embodiments. Reference is now made to the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Figure l is a plan View of a cleaning device in accordance withrnyinvention showing the platform and testtube holder in` their initiallytilted condition.

Figure 2`is a vertical sectional vievl of the device when in thepositionillustrated in Figure l.l

Figure 3 is. a plan view similar to Figure l but showing the position ofthe platform and test tube holder when the tank is lled.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the tank and platformin the position shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a sectional view illustrating the platform in accordancewith my invention.

Figure 7' is a partial elevational view illustrating the manner in whichthe platforml receives the test tube holder.

Figure S is a partial elevational view similar to Figure 7 illustratinga modified platform construction including means for receiving andpositioning the test tube holder.

Figure 9 is a perspective view with parts broken away illustrating amodifiedform of platform.

Figure l0 is a perspective view with parts broken away illustratingv mycomplete cleaning unit.

As best seen in Figures l and l0, my device comprises a tank l capableof being repeatedly filled and drained, as'by means of filling tube 2and drain tubes 3 which, as shown, are in the form of a plurality ofsiphons adapted to rapidly drain the tank as soon as it has been filledto a point adjacent the tops of the tubes 3. lt will be understood thatthis mode of filling and draining the tank l is exemplaryonly andvarious other means for this purpose which are well` known to the artmay be used. Itl is, however, desirable to provide a tank which may berepeatedly lilled and drained as rapidly as possible so that thecleaning operation may be conducted as quickly as possible. l

The test tubes to be cleaned are placed in a holder or basket 4 which ispreferably of open mesh construction so that the water or other cleaningfluid may readily flow throughv it. Preferably it will be formed withvertical corner posts 5 connected together at their tops and bottoms bymeans of horizontal rods 6,A the frame so formed being then covered withwire mesh or similar material 7. lf desired, a cover (not shown) mayalso be provided.

The holder or basket 5 is preferably rectangular in cross section andofa size such that test tubes may be placed therein eitherlongitudinally or cross-wise of the basket, the test tubes being stackedin rows in horizontally disposed position. Thus relativelyshort testtubes 8 will be positioned transverse the length of the basket 4,whereas the 'relatively long testy tubes 9 will be placed lengthwise.therein. In order to assure proper lling and draining of the tubes, theyall must be placed with their open ends Where the tubes are placed bothlongitudinallyV and laterally of the container, all longitudinallydisposed tubes will have their open ends facing one end of the basket,whereas all laterally disposed tubes will have their-open ends facingone side of the basket.

. The basket will be rocked or tilted in the tank by means of ytheplatform 10 (Figure 6) on which the basket is adapted to be supported.The platform will preferably have an uppery surface of a. size tocorrespond to the bottom of the basket and may be provided with aplurality of openings 11 through which the cleaning fluid may pass. Theplatform 1Q is tiltably supported on a rocker ll?. positioned tonormally tilt the platform from the horizontal in the direction of acorner edge thereof. As seen in Figure 6, the rocker 12 is diagonallydisposed with respect toA the edges of the platform and od-set fromthecenter of balance of the platform so as to normally tilt the platformin the direction of the corner edge 13 thereof.

Y The sides 14 and 15 and the ends 16 and 17 of the platform will betapered in the manner illustrated so that the bottom edges of the side15 and end 16 will rest on the bottom of the tank when the platform istilted toward the corner edge 13; and similarly, when the platform istilted about the rocker 12 in the direction of the corner edge 18, theplatform will be supported on the bottom edges of the side 14 and end17.

As seen in Figure 6, the rocker 12 may be in the form of a rod which isWelded or otherwise ixedly secured to the platform side and end walls,as at-19g and the rod carries adjustable collars 20 which serve toposition the rod and platform relative to supporting brackets 21 securedto the bottom of the tank. As best seen in Figure 5, the ends of the rod12 are pivotally received by the brackets 21, the arrangement being suchthat the platform may be rocked or tilted in the direction of theopposite corner edges 13 and 18. Due to the fact that the rocker or rod12 is positioned olf-center with respect to the platform, the platformwill normally tilt in the direction of the corner edge 13 and hence abasket i placed thereon will normally assume the tilted positionillustrated in Figures l and Z of the drawings. Then, upon tilting ofthe platform toward the opposite corner edge 18, the basket will be madeto assume the position illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings.

The tilting of the platform and basket supported thereon from oneposition to the other during the filling and draining of the tank isaccomplished by means of a buoyancy chamber or iioat 22 secured to theside edge of the basket adjacent the corner edge 13 of the platform. Thebuoyancy chamber or tioat will be of a size to provide sufficientbuoyancy to lift the side of the basket and platform adjacent the corneredge 13 as the tank is filled, thereby causing the platform to tilt onthe rocker toward the opposite corner edge 18. In other words, thebuoyancy chamber 22 is selected to provide sufficient buoyancy toovercome the unbalanced condition of the rocker which tilts the platformtoward the corner edge 13 and hence create an unbalanced condition inthe opposite direction so as to cause the platform to tilt on the rocker12 toward the corner edge 18. The basket and platform will remain tiltedin the direction of the corner edge 18 until the tank has drainedsufliciently to relieve the lifting effect created by the buoyancychamber 22, whereupon the platform will again be caused to tilt in thedirection of its corner edge 13. The size of the buoyancy chamber willvary with the size of the holder and the tilt of the platform, but willbe suciently large to cause the filled holder to be tilted from oneposition to the other as the tank is lilled.

In the operation of the device, the test tubes will be placed so thattheir open ends will face the side or end of the basket adjacent thecorner edge 13, and hence in either position will be tilted so thatwater will readily drain from them. As the tank is filled and thebuoyancy chamber 22 acts to tilt the platform in the direction of thecorner edge 18, the basket is thereby tilted and the open ends of thetest tubes raised above their closed ends, thereby permitting the wateror other cleaning uid to readily iiow into the tubes without entrappingair in the tubes. Then, as the tank is drained, the buoyancy member 22will no longer be effective to overcome the unbalanced condition tendingto tilt the platform in the direction of the corner edge 13 and it willreturn to its ini- CII 4 tially tilted position, in which position thetest tubes will again be tilted downwardly and hence the liquid thereinwill be readily drained. I have found that an inclination of the tubesatan angle of approximately 9 from the horizontal in either directionwill provide for proper filling and draining, although it will beevident that the degree of inclination may be varied. It Will beunderstood that the filling and draining operation may be repeated asmany times as desired, depending upon laboratory standards ofcleanliness for the tubes being cleaned.

While l have found that the weight of the basket or holder #l isgenerally suliicient to maintain it on the platform 11i withoutadditional supporting means, a positive connection of the basket to theplatform may be easily effected, as illustrated in Figure 7, byextending the corner post members S downwardly to form legs 23 adaptedto be received in openings 24 at the corners of the platform.Alternatively, as illustrated in Figure 8, the platform l@ may beprovided with flanges 25 extending upwardly therefrom which will receiveand position the bottom of the basket 4, the arrangement being such thatthe flanges 25 will make gripping contact with edge portions of thebasket.

It is also within the spirit of my invention to arrange the buoyancychamber or float 22 so that it may be attached either directly to thebasket 4 as in the embodiment already described, or, as shown in Figure8, attached to the platform 10 as by means of a bracket 26 secured tothe side wall 15 of the platform. Additionally, the buoyancy chamber maybe arranged to extend about the corner edge 13 of the platform with aportion thereof adjacent the end wall 1.

Other modifications may be made in my invention without departing fromthe spirit of it. For example, as seen in Figure 9, the platform 1@ maybe supported on a bar-like rocker 27 supported on blocks 28 in themanner illustrated. Alternatively, the bar-like rocker 27 may restdirectly on the bottom of the tank. It is also within the spirit of myinvention to form the holder or basket and platform as an integral unitso that the basket itself is pivoted directly on the rocker.

While I have taught a preferred construction wherein the platform istiltable in the direction of opposite corner edges thereof so that bothlongitudinally and transversely disposed test tubes may be handled, itwill be evident that the rocker may be disposed either longitudinally ortransversely of the platform so as to tilt it in but a single directionwhere it is desired to use test tubes of substantially uniform sizewhich may be packed in the basket in the same direction. It will be alsoapparent that my device will find utility in cleaning diverse objectsother than test tubes wherein the filling and draining problem isencountered. While my platform device is preferably employed using abuoyancy chamber as a lifting or tilting means, it will also be evidentthat other means may be employed to tilt the platform. While adding tothe cost of the equipment, it would nevertheless be within the spirit ofmy invention to provide a simple motor driven mechanism to tilt theplatform in synchronism with the lilling and draining of the tank.

Having, however, described my invention in certain exemplaryembodiments, what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent is:

l. ln a device for the purposes described, a tank capable of beingtilled and drained, a generally rectangular holder in said tank, saidholder being tiltably supported on a pivoting means positioned tonormally incline said holder from the horizontal in the direction of onecorner edge thereof, said holder being tiltable on said pivoting meansin the direction of the opposite corner edge thereof, and meansconnected to said holder for moving it from one position to the other assaid tank is filled and drained.

2. In a device for the purposes described, a tank capable of beingfilled and drained, a generally rectangular foraminous basket in saidtank, said basket being tiltably supported on a diagonally disposedpivoting means positioned to normally incline said basket from thehorizontal in the direction of one corner edge of said basket, saidbasket being tiltable on said pivoting means in the direction of theopposite corner edge thereof, and buoyancy means connected to saidbasket for moving it from one position to the other as said tank is lledand drained, whereby articles placed either longitudinally or cross-wisein said basket between opposite side edges thereof will be tilted firstin one direction and then in the other.

3. In a device for the purposes described, a tank cav pable of beingfilled and drained, a generally rectangular foraminous basket in saidtank, said basket being tiltably supported on a rocker diagonallydisposed with respect to the sides of said basket, said rocker beingpositioned to normally incline said basket from the horizontal in thedirection of a corner edge thereof, said basket being tiltable on saidrocker in the direction of the opposite corner edge thereof, andbuoyancy means connected to said basket for moving said basket from oneposition to the other as said tank is filled and drained, wherebyarticles positioned horizontally in said basket and extending eitherlongitudinally or transversely thereof, will be tilted rst inonedirection and. then in the other.

4. In a test tube cleaning device, a tank capable of being filled anddrained, a generally rectangular platform in said tank supported on arocker positioned to normally tilt said platform from the horizontal inthe direction of a corner edge thereof, said platform being tiltable onsaid rocker in the direction of the opposite corner edge thereof, agenerally rectangular holder for test tubes supported on said platformand having its side edges in alignment with the side edges of saidplatform, and buoyancy means operatively connected to said platform forcausing it to be tilted from one position to the other as said tank isilled and drained, whereby test tubes positioned horizontally in erallyrectangular receptacle for test tubes supported on said platform andhaving its side edges in aligny ment with the side edges of saidplatform, and a buoyancy chamber secured to said receptacle for causingsaid platform to be tilted from one position to the other as said tankis lled and drained, whereby test tubes positioned horizontally in saidreceptacle and extending either longitudinally or transversely thereof,Will be tilted first in one direction and then in the other.

6. The device claimed in claim 5 wherein said rocker comprises abar-like member the lower edge ofy which defines the axis of tilt ofsaid platform.

7. The structure claimed in claim 5 wherein said rocker comprises a rodsecured to said platform, said rod having its ends journaled in bracketsmounted on the bottom of said tank.

8. The structure claimed in claim 5 including interconnecting means forsecuring said` basket to said platform. l

9. The structure claimed in claim 5 wherein said platform includes sideand end Wall members the bottom edges of which are tapered in thedirection of the said opposite corner edges thereof, whereby said sideand end walls are of lesser depth adjacent the said opposite corneredges than at the remaining corner edges.

l0. The method of cleaning test tubes in a'tank which is adapted to berepeatedly filled and drained, which consists in placing said test tubesin horizontally disposed condition in a generally rectangular foraminousbasket with their open ends extending either longitudinally ortransversely of said basket, supporting said basket in said tank on atiltable platform balanced to normally tilt toward one corner edgethereof and capable of being tilted in the opposite direction, saidbasket said holder and extending either longitudinally or transi verselythereof, will be tilted rst in one direction and then in the other.

5. In a test tube cleaning device, a tank capable of being filled anddrained, a generally rectangular platform in said tank supported on adiagonally disposed rocker positioned to normally tilt said platformfrom the horizontal in the direction of a corner edge thereof, saidplatform being tiltable on said rocker in the direction of the oppositecorner edge thereof, a genbeing placed on said platform with the openends of the test tubes facing toward a side edge of said basketyadjacent the rst named corner edge of said platform,

and providing buoyancy means connected to the iirst named side edge ofsaid basket, whereby upon filling of said tank, said rst named corneredge of said platform will be lifted so as to tilt said platform in theopposite direction, and upon draining of said tank, said basket will bereturned to its initial position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS577,061 Palmer Feb. 16, 1897 1,451,981 Heller Apr. 17, 1923 2,366,369Tannenberg Jan. 2, 1945 2,520,354 Zinty Aug. 29, 1950 2,657,969 Von MaurNov. 3, 1953

1. IN A DEVICE FOR THE PURPOSES DESCRIBED, A TANK CAPABLE OF BEINGFILLED AND DRAINED, A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR HOLDER IN SAID TANK, SAIDHOLDER BEING TITABLY SUPPORTED ON A PIVOTING MEANS POSITIONED TONORMALLY INCLINE SAID HOLDER FROM THE HORIZONTAL IN THE DIRECTION OF ONECORNER EDGE THEREOF, SAID HOLDER BEING TILTABLE ON SAID PIVOTING MEANSIN THE DIRECTION OF THE OPPOSITE CORNER EDGE THEREOF, AND MEANSCONNECTED TO SAID HOLDER FOR MOVING IT FROM ONE POSITION TO THE OTHER ASSAID TANK IS FILLED AND DRAINED.
 10. THE METHOD OF CLEANING TEST TUBESIN A TANK WHICH IS ADAPTED TO BE REPEATEDLY FILLED AND DRAINED, WHICHCONSISTS IN PLACING SAID TEST TUBES IN HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED CONDITIONIN A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR FORAMINOUS BASKET WITH THEIR OPEN ENDSEXTENDING EITHER LONGITUDINALLY OR TRANSVERSELY OF SAID BASKET,SUPPORTING SAID BASKET IN SAID TANK ON A TILTABLE PLATFORM BALANCED TONORMALLY TILT TOWARD ONE CORNER EDGE THEREOF AND CAPABLE OF BEING TILTEDIN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, SAID BASKET BEING PLACED ON SAID PLATFORMWITH THE OPEN ENDS OF THE TEST TUBES FACING TOWARD A SIDE EDGE OF SAIDBASKET ADJACENT THE FIRST NAMED CORNER EDGE OF SAID PLATFORM, ANDPROVIDING BUOYANCY MEANS CONNECTED TO THE FIRST NAMED SIDE EDGE OF SAIDBASKET, WHEREBY UPON FILLING OF SAID TANK, SAID FIRST NAMED CORNER EDGEOF SAID PLATFORM WILL BE LIFTED SO AS TO TILT SAID PLATFORM IN THEOPPOSITE DIRECTION, AND UPON DRAINING OF SAID TANK, SAID BASKET WILL BERETURNED TO ITS INITIAL POSITION.